Today I came home from vacation (Vegas, it was amazing) and found an explanation of benefits from IVF #1 back in February.

I know it's a larger issue than just within the realm of infertility, but hot damn! Insurance companies sure do get a bargain on fertility treatments!!

People don't generally talk about money. Yes, we all gripe about how expensive it is, but does anyone post the cost of each procedure? Each drug? Each lab fee for the entire Internet to see? No. When I first found out I needed IVF, I scoured the Internet for price information and found virtually nothing. Most places that talked about cost said it could cost anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000.

Everyone's protocol is different, and cost varies by location and doctor, but still. Finding out that you need stone cold science to make babies is scary enough, without having any idea about the financial ruin you are about to encounter.

Basically: Bend Over. It's Fricken Expensive.

One clinic I called wouldn't even give me information about any of their prices until I met with a doctor. Which was a fee of $300 for the uninsured. Another clinic sent me a list of prices from 2000 and said it was not accurate but they haven't updated their materials.

I am one of the lucky ones with insurance coverage for IVF. But I didn't know that at first, and I was looking into financing about $10,000 for my first IVF. The IVF that failed. There are lots of people out there who will be paying on their mortgages a lot longer thanks to IVF and other fertility treatments.

It sounds like 2 IVFs aren't bad - especially if you're someone who has been through 3 or 4 failures. But it's expensive no matter how you cut it, and excuse me if I'm wrong, but I don't think most of us have 20, 30 grand just laying around!

So imagine my surprise when I get my explanation of benefits...

Total Charges for IVF #1: $14,650

Total Paid by Insurance: $4,750

Total Patient Responsibility: $350

Now let's take a closer look, so that I may properly illustrate why I told you to bend over a few paragraphs ago...

Total Charges: $14,650 - this is the total amount of charges submitted to my insurance company from my doctor for all ultrasounds, lab work, IVF lab fees, and medications.

Subtract the $350 due from me for copays, which leaves you with charges of $14,300.

Take the $14,300 and subtract the contracted rate that my insurance company has agreed to pay my doctor, which is $4,750.

The remainder is $9,550.

Bend Over.

So, people who pay out of pocket must pay close to ten thousand dollars more than an insurance company. And this is in Ohio, where I am assuming that the cost is lower than other areas.

Does that make you mad? I mean, it makes me mad. Not just about infertility but about any medical condition that needs treatment.

Do you have insurance coverage for infertility? Does your clinic have discounted rates for self-pay patients? How do you finance your treatments if you don't have coverage?